Published: 11 Sep 2017

The task of mustering and tagging all the wheelie bins in Timaru CBD is in full swing, and the council is reminding businesses that they need to identify their bins.

The council is currently in the process of taking a stock take of all our bins in the Timaru CBD to ensure everyone is getting the level of service they are paying for.

It is also supplementing the printed serial numbers on all the bins with some smart Radio Frequency ID (RFID)  technology enabling easier and quicker identification of lost bins and streamlining of collection services.

Council Waste Minimisation Manager Ruth Clarke says that the tagging team is making good progress, but are still coming across a lot of bins that don’t have the address on them.

“To ensure this process goes as quickly as possible we need everyone in the CBD to do two things. One is mark their name or business name and address on the side of the bin with paint or permanent marker, the next is ensuring that every week they put out all their bins on the relevant day whether they need to be collected or not, and leave it out all day.  Once a bin is tagged, this is not required.

“Overall this will ensure that all ratepayers in the CBD are getting the services for which they are paying at the same time as giving them the option to pay for extra services if they need them.”

The RFID tags being attached to the bins are about the same size as a plastic bottle cap and from October will enable our trucks to check in real time whether a bin is at the correct property before emptying it.

If there’s no tag, or the bin is in the incorrect location it will not be emptied and marked for return to its rightful owner or removal at a later date.

“Despite the fact a wheelie bin should remain with the same property, we know that over time they move around the place and get swapped around, so it’s good practice to undertake a periodic stock take of all our bins and update our register,” said Ruth.

“Doing this presents us with the opportunity to modernize the system so this will be less of a problem in the future and ensure CBD ratepayers are getting a fair waste and recycling service.”

Last updated: 24 Feb 2021